Patch 1.4.0 Now Available on PTR

Custom maps with dependencies containing trigger libraries will now load significantly faster in the editor.

Fixed an issue where closing the editor while the previewer is recording would crash the Editor.

Fixed an issue where at the end of a replay the leaving player’s Average APM would set to 0.

Fixed an issue where Broodlords on the high ground would not be revealed when attacking enemy units on the low ground.

Fixed an issue where Bunkers would not display their refunded minerals to the owner or allies when they are salvaged.

StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty patch 1.4 is currently in development and now available for testing on the PTR. This patch contains some balance changes, as well as a number of bug fixes, interface changes, and StarCraft II Editor improvements. By participating in the PTR, you'll be among the first to test out the latest changes and help us ensure that when the patch is released, it's of the highest possible quality.

Details on how to access the PTR can be found in the FAQ. As this is a test server, please anticipate uneven game performance, and note that restarts and downtime may occur without warning. Once you've had the chance to try things out, be sure to visit the PTR forum to discuss the patch.

A new Career page displaying placement in past seasons has been added to the League & Ladders section of the Profile.

The upload timeout period for publishing custom maps has been increased significantly.

SLI performance has been improved.

D3D memory management has been improved.

When file corruption is detected in un-repairable files (replays, saved games, or downloaded maps), a prompt to run the Repair Tool will no longer occur.

Game Options

Added three privacy settings to the Options menu under the Battle.net section.

Only allow friends to send me invites.

Only allow friends to send me chat messages.

Set status to Busy when playing a game.

Added the FPS Toggle hotkey to the hotkey dialog.

Added Display Game Tooltips setting to the Options under Gameplay that can be turned off to prevent tooltips from appearing when playing a game.

UI and Display

A Launch PTR button will now appear on the login screen when the PTR is available. Clicking this button will close the retail client and launch the PTR client.

Improved error messages when a unit is required but none is targeted to provide required target information.

UI Frame used in .SC2Layout files has more anchoring flexibility.

Loading an old saved game will now give an option to restart the mission in the new version of StarCraft II instead of loading it in the old version without access to achievements.

Player names in the Name Panel in observer or replay mode will now be based off the player's locations on the minimap. For example the player closer to the left side of the minimap will appear on the left side of the name panel.

When a building is canceled or salvaged the minerals returned will be displayed at the building location for the owner, for enemy players a floating text will be displayed.

Toggle Team Colors in 1v1 and Free-for-All when observing and during a replay will not change player colors.

Sound

An error notification sound is now played if a placement location cannot be found when unit training completes.

Most existing alert sounds are now reduced in volume when a new alert sound plays.

Transmissions without a valid sound file will now display a subtitle during cinematics even if the player has turned off subtitles.

Added a new Alert Fade option to control how much existing alert sounds fade when new alert sounds are played.

The Mothership's Cloaking Field no longer cloaks all units instantaneously, but rather adds units to the cloak field over time (maximum of 25 per second). This should alleviate "Mothership Lag" issue when a Mothership comes online.

Portrait Frames now have their own desc to use in .SC2Layout files. Currently supported fields are: BackgroundImage, BorderImage, MovieFrame, ModelLink, UseTransition.

Added Disable Observers map option, which prevents players from becoming observers in the game lobby.

Added two fields to MovieFrame Descs : Loop, LockAspectRatio.

Data Editor

Data Editor UI has been reorganized for a better workflow.

Complex fields in the Data Editor can now be expanded by double clicking on the plus sign.

Increased maximum number of unit command card buttons per card from 32 to 64.

If a teleport effect's range is greater than 500, it will now ignore placement.

Revive orders can now automatically choose the hero to revive based on the command selected and the order they were created.

Map creators can now set time scale on bracket anims.

An attack can now be specified to cause no shield flash at all via the 'None' Shield Flash Type value on CActorAction.

Actor now makes a distinction between actors that are created via the ActorCopy message and through all the other creation mechanisms.

Actors that are copied now get an ActorCopy message upon construction rather than an ActorCreation message, so that client data can distinguish between the two scenarios.

Added raw XML editing mode to Data Editor.

Added default parents for new objects in the Data Editor.

Added a "Transient" flag to the Arm Magazine, Learn, Research, Revive, Specialize, and Train abilities to indicate that the orders should not be added to either the unit's main order queue or to a queue ability. These orders will complete immediately.

Added a 'Use Unit Order Queue' flag to the Arm Magazine, Learn, Research, Revive, Specialize, and Train abilities to indicate that the unit's main order queue rather than a queue ability should be used for those orders.

Added support for Unit Weapon Validators to check any weapon on the unit if no weapon is specified.

Added a flag to units called 'Built On Optional' to indicate units can now be built on the terrain if they are not placed on another unit.

Added a "Turn Button Highlight On/Off" trigger to highlight buttons by button link. This will support highlighting buttons regardless of how the button is used (i.e. Select Larva, Select Worker, and Submenus).

Added support for items with abilities to display AoE cursors, show progress, and use the minimap for targeting.

Added support for the Revive ability to issue targeted commands.

Added support for persistent effects to attach revealers to units.

Added AnimSetTimeScaleAbsolute message for forcing animation time scale to a particular value, regardless of prior scales.

Added boosted cliff level support for units and doodads. Placed objects can specify the boosted cliff level amount. Units and doodads will then boost the cliff level of any cells in their footprints that are marked to 'Boost Cliff'.

Terrain Editor

Added view setting for displaying terrain object names.

Trigger Editor

Timer Expires events can now match Any Timer.

Trigger Dialogs can now be attached to a unit.

Attempting to create or hookup a trigger dialog of the wrong type will now result in an error message.

Dialog Items of type Image can now have their image property set as an entry into the Assets.txt file in addition to a raw file name.

Added De-saturated and Desaturation Color properties to Dialog Items.

Added Mouse Enter and Mouse Exit Event Types for the Dialog Item is Used event.

Added Handle of Player trigger to query a player's Battle.net handle.

Added "Unit Learn Progress" and "Unit Revive Progress" triggers to get the progress of Learn and Revive abilities.

Baneling's Attack Structure ability is now a toggle to Enable/Disable Attack Structure. The toggle will determine whether structures are valid targets for auto-attack. This change fixes an issue which caused Banelings to prioritize buildings over hostile units.

Burrowed units are no longer cloaked by the Mothership, as this is redundant.

Attack upgrades are now retained by units controlled by Neural Parasite.

If a unit provides power, that power is temporarily transferred to a player using Neural Parasite.

Canceling more than one of the same structure at the same time as Zerg will add all Drones to the selection.

Improved Larva placement when the bottom edge of a hatchery is on a cliff edge to prevent Larva from getting killed.

Spore Crawlers and Spine Crawlers now disable their Stop button when rooting.

Fixed an issue where Drone attacks could be more easily dodged than SCV or Probes.

Fixed an issue where Broodlords on the high ground would not be revealed when attacking enemy units on the low ground.

Custom Map

Alliance tests for the status bars and the info panel now use the passive and defeat alliance states to determine allies rather than vision and control.

Force effects now preserve existing unit velocity.

Units with an interact ability now clear the interacting state when killed.

Items that cannot be dropped can now be moved in the inventory.

Banks are now marked as verified when saved.

The Unit Attachment Point trigger now reports the correct height.

If more than one unit is selected with the Select Unit Group trigger after units have been deselected by means besides the Clear Unit Selection trigger, the newly selected units will now show up in the info panel.

Range indicators are now updated when an upgrade is applied.

Alerts will now use the Text field for a name if no Name is defined.

Newly created units that gain a weapon via an upgrade will now have that weapon enabled when created.

A unit's height will now be changed immediately via triggers if the duration requested is 0.

Quitting out of a map will now cause the player leave trigger event to be dispatched before the player actually exits which will give triggers a chance to change the victory/defeat state.